sorry guys kind of a noob question, but at what % do you change your oil in your cars? I mean my car says 40% right now, i've put almost 5k on it since i've owned it (2.5mo).

In my old car 06 Jetta GLI, it was 5k, so i'm wondering, should i just go when it tells me or should i go ahead and do it now. I'm a pyscho when it comes to maintaining my cars, so i'm getting ancey. thanks guys!

 

Hey, welcome to AZ

Most will say at >5% change it. This is your first one, so I would change it around 7500 miles, as the first one contains special additives provided by the factory to work-in the engine.

I usually go by the look/smell of oil. But your best bet is >5%.....

 

Well, I have had mine for almost 1 year to the day (bought it new), and I consistently have it changed at the dealership at about the 30% mark, never seen it below 20%-

 

C-028: Oil change!? by MID or miles
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^ Bad Links...

If you drive your car hard everyday, then yes, change it sooner. If you drive normal spirited driving, don't change @ 30%, you are wasting your $$$. Most auto shops, take such good oil, and put it in their cars. A nasty practice, but they don't care.

 

I'm ready for my 2nd oil change. The MID is <5% right now and I'm at almost 14,000 miles. I also use synthetic oil. Keep your oil in there until at least <10% as it's the break-in oil. Welcome to AZ

 

If you have a new car and are on your factory fill, consider getting the factory oil out of there before 4000 miles at the most, 3000 preferably. I know this goes against what others are telling you and what the owner's manual says, but several of the committed gearheads on this site had their factory fills analyzed and saw that the break-in additive package began to breakdown quickly around 3000 miles in. So taking it too far beyond that buys you nothing.

(ref: postings by Road Rage and Michael Wan and others)

Personally, I change my oil in my '04 manual TL at 4000 mile intervals and it is usually showing around 30% at that time. I do my wife's at 5000 and her '05 TL is around 40% then. Just nice round figures that are easy for me to keep a check on.

 

<15% on MID

 

Let the MID do the work for you, since it's supposed to calculate based on driving and weather conditions. I usually take mine in when it hits the 10% mark, which has been around 7,500 miles between oil changes.

 

Mine is at under 20% now; it's about that time...I've got about 3700 miles on the current oil, but most of my driving is in town with short commutes.

 

I wonder, how many of you actually physically inspect your oil before deciding to change it?

The MID is wrong. I've used RP and Mobil 1 Extended, the MID thinks in regular oil. My only motivator is that annoying info alert...which is easily canceled.

 

My dealership has me bring it in when it reaches 15%